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ExpanDrive 2.0 expands to Amazon S3
I had to do some extensive testing before I got too excited, but after a conversation with the developers I'm pleased to announce that ExpanDrive 2.0 is out. We've mentioned it before, but to recap: ExpanDrive allows you to mount remote servers as drives directly accessible in Finder. With a completely rewritten (again) SFTP layer, the existing FTP support and new Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Solution) support, it's even more useful than the last time we mentioned it. One of the developers, Jeff Mancuso, mentioned to me back at the last WWDC that the S3 support was in the works; it's great to see it come to fruition. In my testing, I found that a previously-existing S3 option, JungleDisk, can cause conflicts with ExpanDrive's S3 support. JungleDisk users should note that there are some issues, but they seem to clear up if you create vanilla buckets in your account and use those with ExpanDrive. I personally found that I was willing to give up JungleDisk entirely at this point, preferring this direct-mount with all of the perks, including a contextual menu in Finder for quickly setting public read/write permissions. I can attest to the fact that it's faster, and that the S3 support is working (wonderfully, without JungleDisk). ExpanDrive 2.0 is a $39.95 purchase (well worth it if you deal with remote UNIX systems or S3), and a $19.95 upgrade for existing users. There's a free trial available.
Jungle Disk 2.0 learns to share
Jungle Disk, one of the slickest ways to access your Amazon S3 account, has officially updated to version 2.0. I have two words to say: compatibility and bucket. Compatibility buckets are by far my biggest cause for celebration. You see, I have a disorder that doesn't allow me to do things with just one utility or application, I have to make use of every tool available. I guess it's similar to more mechanically inclined folks who fetishize power tools. I digress. The long and short of it is that compatibility buckets no longer store my files in a flat, proprietary file system. Not only does this mean other tools can access my Jungle Disk buckets, I now have the ability to move and rename files, which I didn't previously. Upgrading your buckets to the new format is optional, and in my experience can ruffle a few feathers if you use it in a shared environment. For reasons noted previously, I was willing to take the flak. I've only toyed with -- but never used seriously -- the offsite backup features of Jungle Disk. I would say from my brief forays, though, that they rival CrashPlan's abilities. As noted by our friends at the Download Squad, the interface is much nicer now on every platform (Jungle Disk is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux -- there's even a USB version). There are also new command-line tools included, which is great for scripting and automation. If you use Amazon S3, or if you're looking for cheap and massive storage options, Jungle Disk has officially become worth looking at, in my book. The release notes shed light on quite a few improvements I've neglected to mention. The program is $20 and is a one-time purchase with free upgrades for life. You get licensed versions for Windows, Mac and Linux, and free reign to install on as many machines as you like with a single license. For $1/month more, you can get Web-based file access, block-level file updates and upload resume features. The storage pricing itself is direct from Amazon and runs about 15 cents per gig with additional charges for transfers ($0.10/gig upload, $0.17/gig download). Jungle Disk is free to try.
Take your iTunes on the road with WebDAV and S3
Jungle Disk lets you securely store files on Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3) servers. It runs on your local machine as a WebDAV server, allowing you to access S3 as a remote disk. Today the always wonderful Bruce Stewart blogged about an online post he'd stumbled across which put across the question of whether this would be a good way to take your iTunes library on the road. Matt Thommes wrote that he was looking for a solution that eliminated worries about capacity (there's no upper limit on S3 storage), allow world-wide access to his music (he could connect anywhere there was Internet), and allow him to use play the music directly from iTunes. Since Jungle Disk allows you to use S3 as a remote disk, it was just a matter of dropping his iTunes library onto S3, allowing the data to transfer and then setting his new iTunes Music folder location. Keep in mind that S3 is reasonably priced, but certainly not cheap. It costs $0.15 per month per gigabyte and $0.20 per gigabyte of data transfer. When your library starts running upwards of 30 GB, you need to do some practical math. As a rule, S3/Jungle Disk is great for backup, okay for being on the road, but not so good for day-to-day use on your main computer because you're paying for that transfer. Do keep in mind, though, that Jungle Disk does some caching. On the other hand, if you're bringing a laptop with you, odds are that you can just store your data right on the laptop and use S3 as an emergency backup.
Two ways to share iCal without .Mac
iCal is great. I love the elegant interface, integration with other applications, and most of all, I love how easy it is to publish and share my calenders though .Mac. Unfortunately, paying 60 bucks a year just so I can share my calenders is just not something I can justify. Lucky for cheapskates like myself, there are ways to publish calenders from iCal without paying Apple's exorbitant fees. Amazon recently launched their Jungle Disk online storage service, which offers a WebDAV server, similar to .Mac, at rock bottom prices. One can get 20GB of storage with 2GB of monthly transfer for $3.40 per month. Box.net offers 1GB of online storage with WebDAV for free. Publishing to any WebDAV server is just as simple as publishing to .Mac. Systems Boy has a great tutorial for how to do this on his blog. Alternately, if you already have web hosting, and don't feel like setting up a new account at Jungle Disk or Box.net, Scalp makes it possible to publish your calenders to any server with FTP, SSH, or SFTP.Via macosxrumors and Hawk Wings
JungleDisk offers a far cheaper, cross-platform, encrypted iDisk
JungleDisk is quite possibly the first serious, easy to set up alternative I've seen to Apple's .Mac iDisk. Using the power of WebDAV, JungleDisk allows you to mount an online, syncing hard drive (with various size options available) on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux, and save and access data to and from it as if you were working with files in a local folder on your desktop. This is all run through Amazon's S3 online storage web service, which is "based on the idea that quality Internet-based storage should be taken for granted". As an extra kick-in-the-pants to .Mac's iDisk, data sent to and from your JungleDisk is encrypted. A software package is available for each OS to make installation and setup a snap.Pricing is spectacularly low, though I'm slightly confused as to how billing works. They truly mean: "pay only for what you use" - there isn't a flat monthly or yearly fee for your storage and bandwidth. Instead, on their pricing page, they state that you are charged $0.15 USD per gigabyte of storage per month, and $0.20 USD per gigabyte of data transfer. They offer a convenient pricing chart on their main page to compare with other services.I'm already a .Mac customer right now, as I like the integration of all their other services. But JungleDrive sounds like a great alternative for those who only want the ease of use of an iDisk. If you have already used this service or will try it out soon (bonus points for more than one platform), please feel free to comment on your experience.[via ~stevenf]
